Fallen Flame
by ultimate mayhem
Summary: While training in the Emerald Forest Ruby and her friends find something or rather someone who seems too young. Who are they and what will they bring? Let's find out.
1. The Blank Slate

Fallen Flame

Disclaimer

I do not own RWBY or any of the characters in this story except for one.

Chapter 1 The Blank Slate

It was mid afternoon and both Teams RWBY and JNPR were training in the Emerald Forest together. As they looked for an appropriate area they heard as something crashed through a number of trees.

"What was that?" asked Jaune.

"I don't know but I say we go find out." replied Ruby suddenly taking off followed shortly after by everyone else.

"Hyper active as always." sighed Weiss. It wasn't long after that they arrived at the end of a destructive trail that led into what used to be a large boulder but now had a young boy with mid length black hair, tattered pants, and a tattered black shirt who had no shoes. As soon as they saw him the two teams ran up to him and Ruby and Ren checked him.

"Is he okay?" asked Yang.

"I don't feel a heartbeat." said Ren holding his hand to the boy's chest.

"But he has a pulse." said Ruby before moving her hand just below his nose. "And he's breathing."

"We should take him back to Beacon." said Yang as she picked him up in her arms and group started heading back up until a group of Beowolves. "Okay so it looks like we're gonna have to fight but someone's gonna have to watch the kid." Ruby was about to say something when the kid's eyes suddenly shot open and he jumped out of Yang's arms.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" asked Weiss. The kid's eyes darted around.

"I think he's freaking out." said Blake.

"So what do we do?" asked Pyrrha.

"Get him out of here." said Ruby.

"That might be a little tough." said Yang.

"How come?" asked Ruby.

"Because he's charging at the Beowolves." replied Yang pointing at the boy who was running straight for the pack. The eight of them ran after him but become surprised when he jumped on a Beowolf's head and somehow set it on fire before jumping to another and repeating up until a Beowolf slashed at his face causing something green to fly off it which shatter the second it hit the ground. The boy landed on all fours and then ran in the same manner.

"I guess he can handle himself." said Yang surprised as the kid burned every Beowolf he came in contact with eventually causing the rest to turn in an attempt to leave until the boy held out his hand causing a shiethed sword to appear which in turn caused his hair to become white. Then he got into a stance as though he was about to draw his weapon but when he did he disappeared in the blink of an eye before reappearing looking like before. For a moment he stood there looking around as the Beowolves fell apart. The two teams stood as the boy walked towards them.

"How did you do that?" asked Ruby. The boy didn't reply. He just cocked his head to the side in confusion. It wasn't until a few seconds later that they noticed two things. The first was that his eyes were to different colors. His left eye was red while his right eye appeared to be golden. The second was that he had three scars on his face. One on his cheek, one that went diagnally across his face and one that parallel to it near his eye.

"What's your name?" asked Yang. The kid looked at her completely clueless before looking at the others.

"Do you think he's okay?" asked Jaune. It was then Blake approached the boy and took hold of his face staring at him straight in the eyes. The boy stared back.

"I don't think he'll be able to answer any questions." she finally said.

"Why not?" asked Yang.

"His eyes. They're almost like a child's." replied Blake.

"Soooo what does that mean?" asked Ruby.

"Right now I don't think he knows anything. I don't even think he remembers how to speak." explained Blake.

"So he's like a baby?" asked Ruby.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it." said Blake.

"But then how did he just take out a pack of Beowolves?" asked Jaune.

"My guess would be battle instincts." said Blake.

"Battle instincts?" asked Jaune.

"Yes. Often when one fights for long enough battle become second nature so even if the person forgets who they are they still remember how to fight." explained Blake.

"So if he was able to take down that many Beowolves he might be some kind of prodigy." said Ren as they watched him walking on his hands.

"I don't think he is." said Weiss.

"How do you know?" asked Ruby.

"If there was such a prodigy don't you think he'd be famous?" Weiss asked her partner.

"Maybe unless he was a recluse or something like that." countered Ruby.

"So what do we do?" asked Yang.

"I guess we should take him back with us to Beacon." said Ruby. "But first we should decide on a name for him."

"Like what?" asked Weiss.

"How about hothead?" suggested Nora. Everyone just stared at her, minus the kid who was now doing flips up until he crashed into a tree. "What?"

"It seems a little weird but maybe it should be fire related." said Ruby.

"How about scorch?" suggested Yang. Upon hearing the word scorch the boy looked at Yang almost like a puppy who found its owner.

"Looks like he likes it." said Ruby.

"So what do we do once we get back to school?" asked Ren.

"I would guess take him to Professor Ozpin's office." said Blake as they boy went up to her and stared at her bow. "Would you like to come with us to Beacon Academy?" The boy they now call Scorch tilted his head to the side before he jumped onto a tree branch and then let himself hang from his legs.

"He almost seems like a Faunus." said Yang.

"Shouldn't we get him down?" asked Weiss.

"I've got it." said Nora before striking the tree with Magnhild causing it to shake. Scorch lost his balance and nearly fell before grabbing onto the branch with his hand. Then he let go and landed on his feet.

"Come on boy. We're going to Beacon." said Ruby patting her knees.

"Ruby he's not a dog." said Weiss just before Scorch ran up to her.

"Maybe not but he does act like a lost puppy." said Pyrrha as Ruby took his hand. Afterwards the group made their way back arriving shortly after at the place where they had been launched from during their initiation. Upon seeing the platforms Scorch ran up to one of them.

"Hey be careful." said Ruby as he stood on one.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they only launch during initiation." said Yang as Scorch poked at the platform he stood on before it suddenly shot him.

"Oh man. Now we're gonna have to find him again." said Ruby as they saw him getting further away before he stopped in mid air.

"I don't think we'll have to look for him." said Ren.

"Why not?" asked Ruby.

"Well because I think he can fly." replied Ren as they saw him moving towards them with a smile.

"How is that possible?" asked Yang.

"It could be his Semblance." said Pyrrha as he landed next to Ruby which was when he noticed Ruby's weapon and started poking it.

"Whoa. Easy boy." said Ruby pulling out her weapon as she switched it to scythe form. "This is my weapon Crescent Rose." she said as he took hold of the blade. For a moment Ruby thought she felt a slight shock coming from her baby before he let it go. "Pretty sweet, right?" At that the boy swung his hand causing a sword to appear in it. Then, to everyone surprise, his weapon changed shape taking on the form of Crescent Rose.

"Did he just turn his weapon into Ruby's?" asked Jaune.

"Interesting." said Blake. "Hey Weiss let him touch Myrtenaster."

"O...kay." said Weiss before drawing her weapon and holding it out to him. Scorch touched the weapon causing her to feel a slight shock. Afterwards the fake Crescent Rose changed forms once more and became a duplicate of Myrtenaster.

"Oooo do Magnhild next." said Nora holding out her weapon in war hammer form. Scorch held a part of the handle which was followed by Nora feeling a slight shock and the Myrtenaster duplicate changing shape to look like Magnhild.

"So this boy can somehow turn his weapon into any weapon he comes in contact with." said Ren as Scorch swung his version of Magnhild around.

"I'm more curious about whether or not his versions of our weapon can do the same things ours can." said Blake as the boy suddenly started sniffing.

"Is something wrong boy?" asked Ruby. At first they weren't sure up until they saw the expression on his face which told them he was about to sneeze but when he did he sneezed out a burst of fire that shot him straight up. "Huh. Didn't see that coming." she said as they watched him moving up. "It wasn't long before he was falling back down. "I don't think he's slowing down."

"Hey might still be dazed." said Blake. At first it seemed like the boy was going to crash down but then saw as he flipped so that he would land on his feet allowing him to land on one knee once he did land. However his landing was a bit hard causing a part of the place where he landed to crack.

"Are you okay?" asked Weiss. Scorch turned to her and than ran up to hug her which caught her by surprise.

"I think he likes you." said Ruby before he ran up and did the same thing with Blake who was also caught off guard. At first she was going to hug him causing her to be surprised when he suddenly took her bow causing her Faunus ears to come out. Scorch looked at her curiously causing her to sigh.

"I'm a Faunus." said Blake. The boy looked her ears and then seemed to start stretching by arching his back which, to everyone's surprise again, to large red wings came out of his back.

"So is he like a Faunus?" asked Yang.

"I honestly have no idea." replied Blake as Scorch retracted his wings. She walked up and touched his back becoming surprised by two things. The first was that there didn't seem to be a trace of his wings while the second was that she felt what she could only assume to be scars. "Is it okay if I remove your shirt?" Scorch only tilted his head before Blake began pulling up his shirt.

"Isn't he a little young for you?" asked Yang.

"That's not it." said Blake as she pulled off his shirt revealing something which shocked them. His entire torso was riddled with scars.

"What happened to him?" asked Ruby in horror. "How could someone do this to a kid?"

"Who knows but maybe that's why he was in the forest." said Yang.

"You're thinking he ran away from someone who was torturing him?" asked Blake as she put his shirt back on and Yang nodded.

"Look we've done enough dilly dallying. We need to get back." said Weiss.

"She's right." said Ren turning to Ruby and Jaune who both nodded. It wasn't long after that they got back to Beacon with Scorch looking around in wonder.

"This is Beacon. Our school." said Ruby proudly before turning to Scorch. "What do you think?" Scorch just continued to lookin wonder.

"Come on. We need to get to Professor Ozpin's office." urged Weiss.

"Right. Right." said Ruby as she pulled Scorch along. Not long after they were at the door of Professor Ozpin's office. Ruby knocked and waited before hearing a 'come in' from the Professor which was when they entered.

"Ah Teams RWBY and JNPR. What can I do for you today?" asked Professor Ozpin.

"Professor we need your help with something." said Ruby as she pulled Scorch who had begun hiding behind her when they entered.

"Who's this?" asked Professor Ozpin.

"Well we don't know his name. We decided to call him Scorch." replied Ruby.

"Very well." said Professor Ozpin as he approached and knelt down to the boy's level. "Hello Scorch. I'm Professor Ozpin. Headmaster of Beacon Academy. How are you?" Scorch just looked at Professor Ozpin curiously before sniffing. "Can you tell me where your parents are?" Scorch looked at him with no idea what he was asking. Professor Ozpin frowned at the lack of response. "Strange. Normally if someone suffers psychological trauma it can cause them a small case of amnesia but his situation it almost seems like his mind is a blank slate."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that sir." said Ruby.

"Why is that?" asked Professor Ozpin.

"Well we watched him take down a pack of Beowolves by himself." replied Ruby.

"He also seems to have a weapon which he can summon at will." added Blake.

"And he can turn his weapon into any weapon he touches." added Weiss.

"Plus he can fly." added Yang.

"I see." said Professor Ozpin placing his hand on his chin.

"What should we do?" asked Ruby.

"For now he will enrolled as a part of Team RWBY while I search for any missing person's reports to a boy matching his discription. So for now you will be known as Team RWBYS." explained Professor Ozpin as he looked out the window.

"Why us?" asked Weiss.

"He seems somewhat taken with you all." replied Professor Ozpin as he turned back to look at them. "Where did he go?" The two teams looked around and saw Scorch was gone. They started looking around until Blake looked up and became surprised.

"He's on the ceiling." she said. They looked up and saw him seemingly standing on the ceiling walking in a circle.

"What is he doing?" asked Professor Ozpin.

"Your guess is as good as ours Professor." replied Weiss.

"How do we get him down?" asked Yang. It was then that he stopped moving and suddenly fell head first into the ground before getting up dazed.

"Are you okay?" asked Ruby concerned. Scorch simply stood up and smiled. "I guess this means someone's gonna have to keep an eye on him."

"And it's so great that you're willing to." said Weiss.

"Wait. Why me?" asked Ruby.

"Well you are their leader." said Pyrrha.

"Yeah but..." began Ruby before she looked at scorch who, while looking like he didn't know what was going on, used a technique on Ruby that only she had ever used. The impossible to resist puppy eyes. Ruby tried to resist but even with his scarred face she was beaten. "Fine."

"Professor there is one more thing." said Blake.

"Yes Ms. Belladonna?"

"We checked him and he appears to be heavily scarred." replied Blake.

"How badly?" asked Professor Ozpin. Instead of replying Blake lifted Scorch's shirt revealing his scarred torso once more. "This is terrible. For such a young child to have such scars. I will have this matter investigated immediately."

"Thank you." said Blake.

"In the meantime he'll be enrolled here until we can locate a parent or guardian to watch over him."

"Professor do you think such a young boy will be able to handle Hunter Classes?" asked Ren.

"It remains to be seen but do not forget that if we have him here we can not simply have him roaming around and a child of such an age is likely to become bored if he is kept in a room by himself for too long." explained Professor Ozpin.

"Yes Professor." they all said before they left. By now it was night time so they headed to the cafeteria for some dinner. It was obvious Scorch wouldn't be able to pick something himself so upon arriving the picked him a plate of mac and cheese with a sandwich with some milk. After they all picked their own meals and took him to a table where they began eating while Scorch looked at his food curiously. Ruby noticed looked at him.

"Is something wrong?" Scorch just placed his hand together as if in prayer and then started eating the sandwich. Not far from them they take notice of team CRDL bullying Velvet as per usual. Scorch looked up from his sandwich before getting out of his seat and walking up to Cardin. "Hey get back here." said Ruby only to be ignored. When Scorch got near them team CRDL noticed but still didn't release Velvet's bunny ears.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" asked Cardin. Scorch just looked at him as his eyes began glowing. "What? You wanna fight?" he asked poking Scorch's chest who merely reacted by grabbing Cardin's fingers and twisting them causing the older boy pain and rage. "That's it!" he said before throwing a punch which, to his surprise, the younger boy caught with relative ease. After Scorch struck Cardin's throat just hard enough to cause him to cough. Then he struck both of Cardin's temples simultaneously and following up by grabbing his right arm and then jumping in a twist causing him to land with his feet at Cardin's shoulders but the landing was hard and caused Cardin's to become dislocated which in turn caused him to yelled out in pain. Then he turned to look at the other three with his eyes still glowing. The three took Cardin and left. Once they did Scorch's eyes returned to normal and he smiled at Velvet who looked at him surprised. Scorch poked her cheek to get her attention.

"Um...thank you." she said. Instead of responding Scorch took her hand and pulled her towards the table Teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting. She tried to pull away but was caught off guard by the young boy's strength and shortly after found herself with the two other teams.

"Hey Velvet." said Ruby cheerfully.

"Um hello."

"I see you've met Scorch." said Ruby.

"Is he you're younger brother?" asked Velvet.

"No. We just found him in the Emerald Forest." replied Yang.

"He's got some crazy skill." added Nora. "Like he can fly and copy weapons."

"Really?" asked Velvet knowing of Nora's tendency to exaggerate thing. The others nodded as Scorch made a fire ball which he was using to heat his sandwich before he continued eating it. "How come he doesn't talk?" she asked curiously.

"We think he may have suffered some kind of trauma which may have caused him to lose his memories and possibly his speech." replied Blake.

"We do?" asked Ruby. "I mean yeah we do."

"That's so sad." said Velvet patting his head causing him to smile. "Well I need to go back to my dorm. Thank you for helping me." she added before leaving. It wasn't long before they finished and returned to their dorms. For team RWBY having Scorch in their room felt a bit strange because to a certain degree they felt like older sisters which was Yang was no stranger to but was a little foreign to Ruby since she'd only ever been used to being the younger sister.

"Alright then let's get ready for bed." said Yang.

"Not so fast." said Weiss catching the attention of her teammates. "We need to decide on sleeping arrangement for our 'new' teammate."

"I hadn't thought of that." said Ruby with a frown.

"Sooo what do we do?" asked Yang.

"I think he knows where he wants to sleep." said Blake. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked at Blake in confused before she pointed to the floor and they saw Scorch lying on the floor as though he were a dog in front of a fire.

"We can't just have him sleep on the floor." said Weiss.

"I'm starting to think he might actually think he's a puppy." said Blake as they saw him twitching on the floor. Despite the weirdness of it none of them could help but smile a little. After Blake walked to Scorch and picked him up before placing him on her bed. "He can sleep with me tonight." The others nodded before they each got ready for bed. Once they were all in bed they turned off their lamps.


	2. Test Run

Fallen Flame

Disclaimer

I do not own RWBY or any of the characters in this story except for one.

Chapter 2 Test Run

It was somewhat early in the morning when Blake awakened and to her surprise she smelled something. She also noticed a presence, or that lack there of. When she checked her bed Scorch wasn't there. After she became surprised when a tray with a two plates and two glasses was placed over her blanket. The first plate had eggs while the second seemed to have salmon. The first glass had milk and the second had juice. She looked up and saw Scorch looking at her with a smile. To her surprise he was in uniform.

"Good morning." he spoke for the first time.

"Good morning." replied Blake before looking at the food. "Did you make this?"

"Yes. I wake up early and go to forest." said Scorch.

"You went to the Emerald Forest?" asked Blake surprised. Scorch nodded.

"Fresh fish." he said pointing to the salmon. "None in the kitchen." he added.

"When did you go?" asked Blake.

"Black sky." replied Scorch pointing out the window. "Eat."

"Thank you." said Blake before she began eating. "This is really good." Scorch smiled.

"Nee-san." said Scorch catching Blake's attention.

"What?"

"Nee-san." he repeated.

"Nee-san?" asked Blake. He nodded. "What does that mean?" Scorch pointed at Ruby's bed and then to Yang's. "Ruby and Yang? They're sisters." Scorch nodded and then pointed at Yang's bed again. "Yang's Ruby's older sister."

"Nee-san." said Scorch. And then it dawned on her which caused her another bit of confusion. Why was he saying older sister in another language. Then he hugged her.

"Do you think I'm your sister?" asked Blake.

"No." he replied. "Like sisters."

"I see." said Blake with a smile. It wasn't long after that Ruby awakened. When she got up a tray was placed on her legs. She looked and saw Scorch smiling.

"Oh hey. You're awake." He nodded. "How do you feel?" He shrugged. "Got your voice back yet?"

"Yes. Thank you, Nee-san." he said.

"Nee-san?" asked Ruby confused.

"It means big sister." replied Blake as she came into the room in uniform. "He thinks of us as his sisters." she added as he stepped out of the room and then returned shortly after with two more trays.

"Uh Yang and Weiss might not be up for a little while." said Ruby as she finished the milk and her eggs. After Scorch took the tray and placed it near the door before handing Ruby and Blake what appeared to be ear plugs. The two put them on and looked at him curiously as Ruby got off her hanging bunk. He handed Ruby and Blake the two Trays he had brought and then moved the two girls near the door before turning to the beds. Then he turned around again and pointed to Blake's bow before placing both hands on his head.

"The bow blocks my Faunus ears from hearing." said Blake getting an idea of what he was about to do. With a smile he turned, took a deep breath, and let out what sounded like the shriek of a bird which was loud enough to be heard across the campus causing Weiss to awaken in shock while Yang fell off her bunk. The two got up just before Scorch handed them the trays.

"Don't. Ever. Do That. Again." said Weiss seriously as Ruby and Blake took out the ear plugs.

"What happened?" asked Yang before eating some egg.

"Scorch got his voice back, he made breakfast, and decided to wake you to up." replied Ruby.

"How are you kid?" asked Yang.

"Okay." replied Scorch before turning to Weiss. "Eat."

"Is he really okay?" asked Yang.

"I think he's slowly remembering how to talk." replied Blake.

"Is this salmon?" asked Weiss. Scorch nodded. "Where did you get it? It tastes fresh." Scorch nodded again and pointed out the window. Weiss, Yang, and Ruby looked at the window and then realized he was pointing towards the Emerald Forest. "Wait. Did you go back to the Emerald Forest?" Scorch nodded again. "Are you crazy? Something could've killed you out there!"

"Bear." said Scorch.

"What?" asked Weiss.

"Bears." repeated Scorch before he made his arms all wide pretending to be something.

"Ursa?" asked Blake. Scorch nodded.

"You were attacked by an Ursa?" asked Weiss.

"No." replied Scorch before holding out eight fingers.

"Eight Ursi?" asked Ruby. Scorch nodded.

"And you took them down?" asked Weiss surprised.

"Is it really that surprising considering he took out a group of Beowolves by himself yesterday?" asked Blake.

"I suppose you're right." said Weiss.

"So what do we have scheduled for today?" asked Yang.

"Grimm studies." replied Ruby.

"Great. So we're in for another story from long ago." said Yang imitating Professor Port on the last part before turning to Scorch. "Think you'll be able to pay attention?" Scorch shrugged. Some time after once they were finished getting ready they began heading to class walking along with Team JNPR.

In class they listened to another story about how Professor Port fought off a group of Ursi on his own and earned the respect of a village.

"Now then I heard from Professor Ozpin we have a new student." he said looking at Scorch. "Young man, could you step forth?" He got up and went up to Professor Port. "Now then I am curious as to your skill. I hear you took on a group of Beowolves so this should be an easy matter." he said turning to the cage behind him. "Now you may go and change into your battle gear."

"I'm okay like this." said Scorch.

"Very well." said Professor Port. "Take your position." Scorch walked a few steps away and then turned to face the cage. "Are you ready?" Scorch nodded. "Very well. Begin!" he said slashing the lock on the cage allowing a Boarbatusk to jump out as it looked around. Once it spotted Scorch it charged.

"You can do it!" called out Ruby as Scorch jumped and then used the Borbatusker as a platform to jump a few feet away from it. When he landed he turned with his hand held out causing a sword to appear. After he ran towards it just as it jumped up and began to spin rapidy. When he saw it moving towards him. He threw his sword up before raising his sleeves and holding out his forearms. Everyone watched as it's blades slashed at his forearms. To their surprise it slashed but Scorch didn't budge. Instead he pushed it back just enough to swing his arm and punched it back causing it to hit the wall. Once it hit the ground Scorch caught his sword and backflipped placing the tip of the blade on the ground causing several weapon to erupt out of the ground in direction of the Borbatusk impaling it from below. Team RWBY became especially surprised when they saw that among those weapon were Crescent Rose, Myrtenaster, and Gambol Shroud.

"When did he...?" began Blake before sighing. "Should have known." After he walked up to the Borbatusker leaving his blade stabbed into the ground. When he got near the Borbatusker he placed both hands on its head causing them to glow. Everyone was confused and wondered what he was doing. They got their answer when he returned to his weapon and pulled it out of the ground causing all the other weapons to vanished by a light red mist which caused the Borbatsuker to fall which, once again to everyone's surprise, caused it to suddenly fall to ashes.

"Quite impressive." said Professor Port as Scorch's sword vanished and he fixed his sleeves. Scorch smiled and then looked straight at Cardin with an 'I could do that to you' look. Afterwards they two teams walked out together with most of them wondering about what it was Scorch had done in class. Not just the turning the Borbatusk into ash but also the thing where he made weapons explode out of the ground. It didn't take long before Ruby's curiousity overtook her and she turned to ask only to see Scorch was no longer walking with them. In fact he was gone.

"Hey where'd he go?" asked Ruby. The others turned and saw he was no longer there.

"Great. We lost him." said Weiss. At that all their scrolls started beeping so they all pulled them out. When they opened them they a saw map of the school with a red blinking dot. "What in the world?"

"Should we check it out?" asked Yang.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that he disappears and then our Scrolls show us a map of the campus." said Ren.

"Then let's go!" ordered Nora before taking off. Ren let out a sigh before they followed. It wasn't long after that they found themselves on the roof of the dorms where Pyrrha had agreed to help Jaune become a better fight a few weeks earlier. There they saw Scorch floating in the air. When they moved in front of him they saw he had his legs with the soles of his shoes in contact and both hands forming rings with his thumb touching his middle finger but what really caught their attention was the fact that his eyes seemed to be glowing in their respective colors.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Yang waving her hand in front of his eyes.

"What's up with him?" asked Ruby.

"I think he's meditating." said Ren.

"Really?" asked Nora as she looked closely at his face. Then she moved her hand to his head but when she touched it she instantly pulled it back and waved it in pain.

"What's wrong?" asked Pyrrha.

"His head's super hot." replied Nora.

"Really?" asked Yang as she touched his head causing her to do the same. "You weren't kidding. It's like putting my hand in a camp fire."

"It may be a way for him to protect himself." said Ren looking closely at the boy's eyes. "He seems to be in a trance. I suppose he developed that in case someone or something tried to attack him." he added as he stepped back.

"Please hold hands." he suddenly spoke surprising them. They looked at him and saw that his expression remained unchanged.

"Did he just...?" began Jaune.

"Yes I did." interupted Scorch as he held his hands to his sides. The eight became curious and then took hold of each other's hands before Jaune took Scorch's left hand while Ruby took his right. Instantly all eight of them felt like they were sucked in. The eight remained standing with their eyes now glowing in their respective colors.

Inside Scorch's mind

The eight of them began to awaken to see they were in what looked to be a massive library.

"What is this place?" asked Jaune.

"Well, this is a surprise." said a voice. The group turned and saw a man with short blond hair in a red karate gi.

"Who are you and what is this place?" asked Weiss.

"Easy there missy." said the man. "Name's Ken and I'm just a construct."

"A construct?" asked Pyrrha. "You're not real?"

"Something like that." said Ken. "Have any of you heard of the Method of Loci?" The whole group looked confused. "Okay then. Basically it's a way to store and organize information inside one's mind. This place is his Mind Palace."

"So then all these book are things he knows?" asked Pyrrha.

"That's right." replied Ken. "I'm one of the constructs in his mind he created to help him."

"So the real you is someone Scorch knows?" asked Ruby

"I should say so. He trained with me for a few months and picked up the Shotokan Arts pretty quickly." replied Ken with a light laugh. "Unfortunately he had a habit of training overboard and there were a few times Eliza and I had to take him to his bed."

"Eliza?" asked Yang.

"The real me is married." replied Ken.

"So then what is he doing here?" asked Weiss.

"Well I think you've all noticed the kid seems to have no memory but has a pretty wicked battle instinct." said Ken. They nodded. "Well he came in here to try to find out some things about himself."

"Has he been reading all these books?" asked Jaune.

"No." replied Ken. "His subconcious locked away a good portion of information so even though the books are here almost all of them are locked."

"So does this place only have books?" asked Ruby.

"Nah." replied Ken. "This place has just about every bit of information he's ever learned." he added as he signalled them to follow him to a set of stairs which led them to a hallway. From there he led them to the third door on the left and opened it. Inside they saw several types of melee weapons which seemed to be on display. As they looked around Ruby spotted Crescent Rose which was between Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud with Magnhild next to it.

"So what's the deal with this place?" asked Yang.

"Do you want the quick explanation or the total breakdown?" asked Ken.

"I for one would like the full explanation." said Weiss.

"Alright. Remember how he was able to transmute his weapon into your weapons after touching them?" asked Ken. The group nodded. "Well the kid has a computer inside the part of his spine that connects to his skull. That's part of the reason why his eyes are they way they are. He can send a small electric pulse from his brain to his hand and into something he touches. It's a little like the way a bat sees in the dark." explained Ken.

"So you're saying that the small pulse of electricity runs through something he touches, hits the end of it, and then goes back to him?" asked Blake. Ken nodded. "I see."

"I don't think I get it." said Ruby.

"He sends a small pulse of electricity that goes back to him after it hits the end of the weapon but as it moves it breaks down the entire design of a weapon so that when it goes back to him he knows every detail of the weapon he touched." explained Blake.

"Wow." said Ruby. "Hold on. Does that mean he has the plans for my sweetie in his mind?"

"Well the duplicate is right in front of you, so what do you think?" asked Ken. "Anyway this is only the hall of blades. Basically any kind of melee combat weapon he's ever scanned. Downstairs is where we have the fire arms."

"Why did you bring us here?" asked Ren.

"No idea. The kid's got the attention span of a fruit fly." replied Ken. "One minute he'll be explaining some high tech thing and then he'll start talking about something that he may have read somewhere."

"Are you the only one here?" asked Blake.

"If you mean in the palace then no." replied Ken. "There's about ten of us here. Each one based off of someone he's met and respects a lot whether it's because of their skill, knowledge, or because of the way the are." he explained. "Like this guy." he added signalling behind them. The eight turned and saw a man with short black hair who wore brown pants with a blue shirt and a brown jacket.

"Who's that?" asked Jaune.

"My name is Sherlock Holmes and I am actually here to take you to his current location." replied the man with an accent before turning his back to them. "If you will just follow me." he said as he began to walk shortly followed by the others.

"So if that Ken person was his Martial Arts Master what were you?" asked Weiss.

"I was his instructor in the science of deduction." replied Sherlock. "He was also, in fact, the first and only child I ever instructed. I also represent the detective side of him."

"Hold on." said Yang feeling a little confused. "Science of deduction? He's a detective?"

"He is a detective in his own right but he uses his skills in a different manner." replied Sherlock. "For example noticing the her scent." he said looking at Blake.

"My scent?" asked Blake.

"The boy has acute senses and is able to distinguish people and things by scent among other things."

"So that's how he knew I was a Faunus?" asked Blake.

"He doesn't know what a Faunus is."

"Uh guys. Where's Nora?" asked Yang the eight looked around and saw Nora was no longer with them.

"Should've figured since she hasn't said anything for the last few minutes." sighed Ren.

"Where do you think she'd go?" Pyrrha asked Ren. Suddenly Sherlock's eyes widened.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ruby. At that Sherlock just took off running. The others became confused but followed shortly after. They went to a set of stairs that spiralled down from their current location. Once they arrived at the bottom they became surprised. The were in a hall but the were white with a number of red stains. Some of which almost resembled hand prints which would drag on a few inches.

"What is this place?" asked Ruby.

"This palace is somewhat similar to a thermometer." said Sherlock. "Highest temperature representing the most positive and thus the lower representing the negative."

"So we're in a dark part of his mind?" asked Ruby sounding worried.

"It's worse than that." replied Sherlock. "Although I'm certain he will not be happy with my telling you this the boy has a very...unique past to say the least."

"Unique how?" asked Weiss.

"As a newborn he was kidnapped and experimented on." replied Sherlock.

"That's horrible." said Ruby.

"Well you didn't think he installed a computer into his own mind, did you?" he asked.

"So then what is this place, exactly?" asked Ruby.

"There are others like him." responded Sherlock. "Some of them were awakened by him and he assured them he had deleted the parts of them that would impulse them to kill when in fact he merely transfered them here."

"How would he be able to transfer a part of someone else's mind into his own?" asked Weiss.

"Have you not been listening to a word I said?" asked Sherlock irriated before sighing. "Look for now we should just find your friend before she let's one of these creatures loose or worse."

"What would be worse than one of them being set loose?" asked Yang.

"One of them possessing her." replied Sherlock.

"They can do that?" asked Ruby.

"These creatures have a human appearance because they originate from the combination of information and the human psyche they could go into someone else's if they came here."

"So how bad are we talking?" asked Yang.

"The majority of the children were to be programed to be soldiers. Mindless drones who would attack anything upon command. If one of them were to go into one of you it would make you a danger to everyone." he said as they approached the end of the hall where they saw Nora standing in front of a steel door.

"Nora what are you doing?" asked Ren.

"Don't you hear it?" asked Nora. The group listened and heard silent weeping.

"What is that?" asked Jaune.

"Do you care about the boy?" asked Sherlock.

"What?" asked Ruby surprised.

"Do you lot care about the boy?" he asked again.

"Of course we do." said Weiss.

"We haven't known him that long but he's a part of our group." said Blake.

"Then on his behalf I ask that you wait for him to regain his memories. The boy has been through very personal things. Things which have jaded him."

"What do you mean?" asked Jaune.

"As I said I ask that you let him tell you. For now let us go to his current location." said Sherlock leading them up to the stairs. After three sets of stairs and five hallways they arrived at a blue door.

"Why is this place so big?" asked Yang irritated.

"You saw the books in the main room, yes?" They nodded. "The books that were in there are mere fragments. The majority of the information he has is stored within these walls."

"Really?" asked Ruby as she walked up to one of the walls which had strange marks.

"Indeed but do not touch them as the quantity information contained may be too much for one to handle." he added.

"Ruby?" asked Yang before turning to see Ruby with her hand near a wall which had what looked an arc. "Ruby!" she called out right when Ruby's hand touched the wall which caused a surge of electricity to go through her body. Yang ran up to her sister to try to pull her away from the wall but right before she had the chance to Ruby was shot into her.

"Ruby, are you okay?" asked Jaune as they approached the two fallen sisters.

"That is a lot of weapons." said Ruby a little dazed.

"What do you mean?" asked Yang as she helped her sister stand.

"The wall your sister just touched is where he stored the designs of every weapon he's mentally broken down." explained Sherlock.

"I think I found an awesome upgrade for Crescent Rose." said Ruby with a smile.

"Just be careful. If you intend to use the design of a Jericho missile to your weapon it will make it much more dangerous as every small rocket has the same destructive power as a full sized missile. In any case he is behind this door." he said before disappearing. The eight opened the door and inside they saw Scorch who stood on a blue mat.

"What is he doing?" asked Weiss.

"He is trying to look through his memories." replied a voice. The group turned and saw a woman with brown hair and green eyes in a pink sundress.

"Are you another construct?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yes but as opposed to Ken and Sherlock I'm not someone who trained him. I'm what you might consider like his foster mom." she replied. "My name is Aerith."

"So what is this place?" asked Ruby.

"Well every other room in this place is nothing but knowledge. This room holds his memories."

"So he's trying to remember?" asked Yang.

"Basically." replied Aerith. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you to come here."

"Of course not." said Yang. "I don't get why the kid called us though."

"He didn't call you. I did."

"Wait, what?" asked Jaune.

"As he is now he is desperate to uncover his memories because he feels there's something very important he must do. If he chooses to remain like this here his body will stay in its current state so I called you here to take him back." she explained. "His memories will return within the next few days. I must ask something of you."

"What is it?" asked Yang.

"Most of his memories are...unpleasant and they will be returning to him in his dreams so I ask that you be mindful of him."

"How bad are we talking?" asked Ruby concerned.

"Worse than any child should have to live." replied Aerith looking down. "Remember these words. When faced with a choice between hope and dispair it is always best to choose hope." she said as she walked up to Scorch and picked him up in her arms revealing he was unconcious. After she handed him to Blake who took him.

"So how do we leave?" asked Weiss.

"Just follow me." said Aerith as she opened the door. They followed her through two sets of stairs and three hallways until they were at a place with six doors. "Five of these doors lead to hidden places within this palace while the sixth is the exit."

"So how do we know which is the exit?" asked Yang. Aerith took Scorch's hand and held it out causing the fourth door to glow. "Oh. Well that was easy."

"Please watch over him."

"We will." said Blake before they went to the door and Ruby touched it causing them to be blinded by a bright light.

Shortly after the eight awakened back on the roof. They also saw Scorch who was now on the ground and beginning to stir before he got up.

"Team RWBYS please report to Professor Ozpin's office." said a voice through the intercom which they recognized as Professor Goodwitch.

"Great. Now what?" asked Weiss.

"Let's find out." said Ruby with a smile. They parted ways with Team JNPR and arrived at Professor Ozpin's office. Once inside they saw Professor Goodwitch standing next to Professor Ozpin.

"You wanted to see us?" asked Blake.

"Yes. I asked you here for two reasons." said Professor Ozpin. "The first was that Professor Goodwitch wanted to meet our new young recruit." he said before sipping his coffee. "So what do you think?"

"He seems far too young and he doesn't seem to have any of the skills you told me of."

"That's because you haven't seen him in battle." said Yang confidentely.

"And that was the second reason." said Professor Ozpin. "There is a small village who is having trouble with a pack of Ursi. You are to dispose of them and Professor Goodwitch shall accompany you to analyze young Scorch's abilities."

"Okay." said Scorch with a smile before bowing at Professor Goodwitch who sneered at him. About an hour later they were nearing the village when they spotted and Ursa near them. It hadn't noticed them so they began to sneak until Scorch jumped on it and punched both sides of its head with burning knuckles burning the inside of its head which killed it instantly. After he dragged it and threw it into a bush.

"Impressive." said Goodwitch.

"Can't let them know we're coming." said Scorch before they continued on. It wasn't long after that they arrived at the village which was being attacked by several Ursi. The five immediately ran in and began fighting against the Ursi but Professor Goodwitch kept an eye on Scorch. The first Ursa he ran up to was chasing after a woman. She became surprised when a wind seemed to surround him which formed a tornado around the Ursa as he moved within it.

"Fuujin no Mai Kai (風神の舞改 {Dance of the Wind God Remastered})!" he called out as the tornado sucked up the Ursa and spat it out from the top. Once in the air he grabbed it leg and spun it rapidly in the air before throwing it down and then landing on its neck hard enough to break it. Upon seeing this she noticed something. There was a light glow around his body. For a moment she wondered if that was from his aura but then noticed that the more he fought the brighter the light became. It wasn't until an Ursa was about to hit Ruby from behind that it engulfed him as he caught the Ursa's claws. Ruby turned and watched as his clothes became all red and changed to pants, a t-shirt, and a vest with fingerless gloves. They also noticed his hair had become red and was now spiked.

"Whoa." said Ruby as she saw him jump over the Ursa and flip it over before breathing out a stream of fire reducing it to ash. Afterwards he jumped back and looked around as he scanned the number of remaining Ursi. Once he got the number he went up to Weiss and whispered something in her ear.

"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded. "Alright." she said before jumping back and holding out her fingers causing several Glyphs to appear at the feet of the remaining Urse which the shot them upwards. It was then he jumped and waved his hands apart causing several guns to materialize, including the gun forms of Crescent Rose, Gambol Shroud, and Magnhild, before two pistols appear in his hands. Once he saw they were in front of him he held out both guns.

"Artillery Buster V3!" he called out as he fired his two weapons causing all the weapons to fire a massive barrage which ripped apart the remaining Ursi. He remained in the air before all the weapons disappeared and he landed on the ground panting heavily.

"That was awesome!" said Yang before noticing the state he was in.

"I suppose he does have the skill to be at our school." said Goodwitch.

"That's uh not good, is it?" asked a panting Scorch as he pointed up. They looked and saw a Nevermore circling.

"Oh man." complained Yang. "We barely beat one of those last time."

"GaburiChomp! Volcanis!" they heard a voice call out. They turned to see Scorch holding a somewhat large red gun which resembled some kind of lizard. After they heard a strange melody play to which he began dancing to in a Break Dance style. After doing a flip he aimed the gun up.

"Fire!" he called out causing three energies to be shot out. The first armored his pants, the second his chest, and the last formed a helmet on his head. "The Blazing Brave!" he called out before jumping straight up. They became surprised that not only was he able to jump high. He went high enough to grab the Nevermore's foot. After he moved onto its head and began hitting it angering the massive bird like creature. As soon as it let out a shriek she jumped off it and flew off.

"What is he doing?" asked Yang.

"Leading it away from the village." replied Ruby before they ran in the direction the two had left in. Not long after they found a clearing where Scorch had landed with the Nevermore not far behind. Scorch turned with his hand held out causing a massive red and gold sword with saw like features to appear in his hand.

"Roar!" he called out as his body became engulfed in an aura that felt primal. After he slashed the Nevermore three times before following up with a fourth upwards. Then held his weapon with one hand on the blade as the aura became brighter until it almost seemed to explode. "I know no limits!" he called out as he began slashing it from several directions at increasingly rapid speeds before the aura formed a massive lizard like creature. "Zyuden Brave Finish!" he called out as he charged slashing the Nevermore one last time as the aura seemingly bit the creature causing it to compress around it causing an explosion which engulfed the creature. Afterwards he landed as he returned to his first state completely out of breath.

"Hey are you okay?" asked Ruby concerned.

"Thank you King." he said with a smile before passing out.

"It would seem he does not know to limit the use of his energy when he battles." said Goodwitch as Blake picked him up and noticed a smile on his face which made her a bit curious. Particularly about the 'King' he mentioned.

"Well then let us return." said Goodwitch. It wasn't too long before they arrived back at Beacon. Once there Professor Goodwitch went to Professor Ozpin's office while Team RWBYS returned to their dorm room where they were greeted by Team JNPR.

"Did something happen?" asked Pyrrha noticing Scorch was unconcious.

"Come into our room and we'll tell you." said Ruby. Once inside the four began to tell what had transpired as Blake put him in bed but when she was about to she noticed a dark red stain at the untucked part of his shirt. She placed him on the bed and noticed the stain became a bit bigger but was still very fresh. She lifted his shirt and that one of the scars that went up to his waist seemed to be slowly opening.

"Yang get me some bandages." ordered Blake.

"What? Why?" asked Yang confused.

"One of Scorch's scars is opening." replied Blake seriously.

"WHAT?" they asked surprised as they checked on the boy and saw Blake was right. At that Jaune left the room and returned with a first aid kit.

"Here." he said handing the kit to Blake. She opened it and looked through what was there. "I need someone to bring me something wet to clean the blood." It was then Ren left and returned with a bucket of water and some hand towels before he began to cleans the blood allowing them to see the original. At that Ruby also noticed a small bit of blood at the edge of Scorch's mouth so she opened to see if he was bleeding. She noticed a little blood on his teeth. She started wiping one of his teeth when she felt something sting her finger causing her to pull her hand back.

"Ruby, are you okay?" asked Yang.

"Yeah but Scorch's teeth have some blood in them." replied Ruby not noticing the small bit of her blood that had gone into his mouth.

"Let's see." said Weiss as she checked the boy's teeth.

"What exactly happened in your mission?" asked Ren.

"Well we fought some Ursi. Weiss launched them into the air and Scorch blew them apart with a bunch a guns that appeared out of nowhere and then we almost got attacked by a Nevermore but the kid pulled out some weird gun and when he fired the blasts armored him."

"Afterwards he got on the Nevermore and lured it away from the village we were helping so we chased after them. When we arrived his aura became much more savage and he destroyed the Nevermore but when he got back on the ground he was breathing heavily. Then he said something strange and lost conciousness." finished Blake as Ren finished cleaning the blood allowing Blake to patch him up.

"I think I may understand what happened." said Ren catching everyone's attention. "His aura. I think it allows him to regenerate at a rapid rate similar to Jaune's so he might've used a lot of his aura to destroy the Nevermore and because of this he was exhausted and his aura was unable to keep that wound closed."

"It makes sense." said Blake. "If the boy hold this many mysteries it stands to reason his aura would as well."

"So what should we do?" asked Ruby looking at the boy.

"We'll have to let him sleep." said Blake.

"So what was it?" asked Jaune.

"What was what?" asked Ruby.

"Blake said he said something before passing out. What was it?" asked Jaune.

"He said Thank You King." replied Blake.

"King?" asked Pyrrha confused. Blake nodded.

"You think he's friends with a King or something?" asked Nora. "Ooo. Maybe he's like a prince or something. What if we asked him to introduce us?"

"Calm down Nora." said Ren.

"There's one thing I'm still confused about." said Weiss causing them to turn to her. "I remember before that gun armored him there was a voice that said something weird."

"What did it say?" asked Pyrrha.

"I think it was something like Gaburichomp! And then it said Volcanis." replied Ruby. "Does that sound familiar to anyone?" Everyone shook their heads. It was then they heard a light humming and turned to Scorch who seemed to be the source.

"We're are unbeatable superstars. With our burning spirits fully charged, our hearts begin to pound. It's wonderful to make legends come true. Don't let anyone silence your bravery, always rise to the challenge. Does anyone really know where true strength lies? Instead of searching the whole world, just look inside your heart. Gaburichomp, Meccha Mucho. Today we're still going wild. Ikuze Kyoryuger. Kick some butt.. Go nuts. Take a bite out of your world. No one could ever stop you. Behold and tremble as we roar Zyuden Sentai. Vamola Kyoryuger." they heard him sing in his sleep as they watched him. "With unbending courage as tough as diamond. Time to knock the dinorsaurs awake and make friends with them. Like a slowly melting piece of ice. The time has now come. For the warriors of the great lizards. Everyone hesitates sometimes as they travel along. But wanting to be stronger everyday is the signpost to show the way. Gaburichomp. Meccha mucho. With the jaws that don't know how to hold back dash on now, Kyoryugers. Hard as nails. Getting charged up. Here's where you have to hang tough. Time to work together. You shake with excitement every time you hear them call. Zyuden Sentai. Vamola, Kyoryuger. Brave in. If you really care about something you'll want to protect it yourself. Let your brave heart burn so bright that it sends fear itself running. Gaburichomp. Meccha Mucho. Today we're still going wild. No one could ever stop you. You shake with excitement every time you hear them call. Zyuden Sentai, Vamola, Kyoryuger." he finished with a smile.

"Has anyone ever heard that song before?" asked Ruby. Once again everyone shook their heads.

"Melody of the earth." said Scorch before turning his back to them to get more comforable.

"It's like he gives us a riddle and then two more before we figure out the answer to the first one." said Yang.

In Professor Ozpin's office Professor Goodwitch had given her report on Scorch to Professor Ozpin.

"And? What did you think?" asked Ozpin.

"The boy displayed an understanding of combat strategy as well as an impressive degree of skill and power from someone so young." replied Goodwitch. "Have you found anything on the boy or his situation?"

"I'm afraid not. The boy appears to be a phantom." replied Ozpin.

"So what shall we do?" asked Goodwitch.

"I believe there is more to the boy's arrival than we can see so for now we will have to keep an eye on the boy." replied Goodwitch. "It is possible that the reason for his arrival was because he was in danger." he said looking out the window.


	3. The Pieces

Fallen Flame

Disclaimer

I do not own RWBY or any of the characters in this story except for one.

Chapter 3 The Pieces

It was very early in the morning when Blake awakened to the sounds of whimpering. She lifted her blanket and saw Scorch was still asleep but he was crying.

"No. You can't be gone." he said. "Wizardmon!" he yelled out suddenly causing the other three girls to awaken.

"Wha-what's going on?" asked Ruby.

"I think he's having a nightmare." replied Blake. Yang and Ruby got out of their bunks while Weiss walked over to Blake's bed. They saw the boy crying and wondered what he was dreaming of as their door opened with Team JNPR looking tired.

"What's going on?" asked Jaune.

"Scorch is having a nightmare." replied Blake. The four approached Blake's bed and also saw the boy in tears.

"No. Piximon. Whamon." he said as he held his hands close. "It's my fault. I was too weak. It's my fault." he whispered.

"That's kinda weird." said Yang.

"What is?" asked Ren.

"He said three names but all three ended with mon. I wonder why that is." replied Yang.

"It sounds to me like he blames himself for something." said Weiss. "Possibly the death of friends."

"But he's so young." said Ruby. "I can't imagine what it must've been like."

"Very painful." said Weiss having the most experience with personal loss.

"He seemed so happy before." said Pyrrha sadly.

"That's most likely because up until now he had no memory of who he was." replied Ren as Yang picked Scorch up in her arms.

"I'll let him sleep in my bed. My aura should be able to calm him down." she said. The others nodded before Team JNPR returned to their own room while everyone from Team RWBY got in their own beds.

Later in the morning Yang awakened and decided to check if Scorch was better but when she lifted her blanket he wasn't there.

"Good morning." a voice greeted. Yang turned and saw Scorch in his uniform standing looking out the window.

"Morning." greeted Yang as she got out of bed. "Are you feeling better?" she asked. He didn't reply so she stepped next to him and looked at him allowing her to see his eyes were red and that he still had some tears falling. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll step outside so you can change." he said before leaving causing her to frown.

"I guess he doesn't wanna talk about it." said Ruby surprising Yang before she sighed.

"He'll speak of it when he's ready." said Blake as she got out of bed.

"Perhaps." said Weiss. A few minutes later they were ready and headed to the cafeteria with Team JNPR. Upon arriving they were able to spot Scorch sitting by himself with what looked to be a cup of coffee and sandwich so once they got their own breakfast they sat with him.

"Hey kid. How are you feeling?" asked Yang cautiously. Scorch didn't respond and just stared at his food.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" asked Ruby. Again he didn't respond.

"Come on. Turn that frown upside down." said Nora placing her fingers on the edge of his lips and pulled them up to make a smile before she felt a sting on both fingers and pulled them back. "Ouch. What was that for?"

"What do you do when the only think you can remember is that you made friends who died to help you?" asked Scorch. "Friends you know you could've saved if you had been stronger."

"You live." said Weiss. "You live, fight, and become stronger so that when the moment comes and something similar happens you can stop it."

"And what do you do with the nightmares?" asked Scorch. "Seeing them die time and time again?"

"You use that pain to become stronger." replied Weiss. Scorch sighed.

"What do you remember?" asked Blake.

"A friend. A friend who said that he didn't fight for an evil one but for his friend who was misguided be struck down by that evil one because I wasn't fast enough." replied Scorch. "Another who had faith and gave his life for that faith in us. And a friend who helped us only to be taken out by an enemy because he protected us." he said as his voice began to crack and his eyes began to shed fresh tears as his coffee started to boil.

"Who do you mean by us?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know." replied Scorch. "All I can remember is a set of single words. Courage. Friendship. Hope. Sincerity. Passion. Determination. Loyalty. Love. Knowledge. Harmony. Reliability. Light."

"Do you know what they mean?" asked Ruby.

"Each one represents a person but I don't remember who or even what they look like." replied Scorch as he began to calm down.

"I was thinking." said Ruby. "Maybe today after class we could show him around town."

"Well we have a history test today so I suppose we could afterwards." said Weiss.

"Hold but will Scorch be okay?" asked Jaune.

"Oh yeah. You've only been here like a day." said Yang.

"I wouldn't worry as much." replied Scorch causing them to turn to him. "Funny thing is I can scan anything I see kind like a camera and a went through your textbooks."

"So you memorized what we were studying?" asked Yang.

"Some of it. My mind's still organizing everything." replied Scorch. "Hey do any of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Blake.

"I hear music." replied Scorch. "La mano arriba. Cintura sola. Da media vuelta. Danza Kuduro." he sang lightly as he moved his head.

"I wonder." said Yang.

"Wonder what?" asked Yang.

"We were told he had a computer in his head and that they changed his eyes so what if the song he's hearing is actually saved into that computer."

"Oh man I wish I could play my favorite songs in my head." said Ruby when Weiss noticed something. She heard something hit the floor and when she checked behind Scorch it was a clear container with a pair of syringes with a violet glowing liquid so she picked it up.

"What's that?" asked Ruby.

"I'm not sure. I think it fell out of his pocket." replied Weiss before tapping his shoulder causing him to turn. "What is this?"

"Something to use in case of emergency." replied Scorch.

"But what is it exactly?" pressed on Weiss.

"Adrenaline I think. In case I get into a fight and I find myself outmatched." replied Scorch.

"What do you think the odds of that are?" asked Pyrrha.

"Here fairly slim. Where I'm from I'd say higher." replied Scorch.

"So do you remember where you're from?" asked Yang.

"No. Just that there's a lot of people I've fought for one reason or another and that a few have beaten me. As I recall one left me half dead."

"Ouch." winced Ruby.

"Plus I remember something about demons and...a really big head."

"A really big head?" asked Yang. Scorch nodded. "Big head an tiny arms and legs. I also remember something about a man. A man with a virus."

"A virus? Was he sick?" asked Jaune.

"No. He infected himself and it made him stronger and faster." replied Scorch placing a hand at his neck.

"How strong?" asked Yang.

"Remember how I took out the Beowolves when you found me?" asked Scorch. They nodded. "Well he probably would've taken less time to do so and he could've taken them out with nothing but his bare hands and he could've take on way more."

"Yikes. Is he a good guy?" asked Ruby.

"One of the worst villains I can think of." replied Scorch. "I can almost remember his name but right when I'm about to remember it slips away."

"We should get going if we don't wanna be late." said Weiss. At that they finished what they had in a rush and left. As soon as they got to class they were handed a test with the exception of Scorch who was told he could leave for the test since he was new. He nodded and waited outside the classroom. By the time they finished and got out of the classroom they saw Scorch in a hand stand.

"What are you doing?" asked Ruby.

"I got bored so I started standing on my hands to see how long I could stay in this position." replied Scorch.

"So how long have you been like that?" asked Yang.

"Since I stepped out." replied Scorch as he got onto his feet.

"Alright then let's go back to our rooms and change so we can show you around Vale." said Ruby. Scorch nodded. First the girls change followed shortly after by the guys. Afterwards they went to Vale where they promptly lost Nora forcing Ren to look for her along with Jaune and Pyrrha. In the meantime the others showed Scorch around town. As he looked around Scorch was surprised by the various shops.

"Wow."

"Yeah. Vale has all kinds of shops." said Yang.

"Kinda bums me out that I don't have any money." said Scorch sheepishly.

"If you want something just tell me." said Weiss.

"No. I've been such a hinderance as it is. I'd hate to bother you more." said Scorch.

"It's not a problem." said Weiss dismissively.

"If you're sure." said Scorch uncertain.

"So there anything in particular you'd like?" asked Weiss.

"I do but it's kinda embarassing." replied Scorch with a blush.

"Aw. That's so cute." said Yang before grabbing him in a bear hug.

"Yang you better let him go before he passes out or something." said Ruby knowing full well her sister could forget her own strength sometimes.

"Actually I'm okay albeit a little uncomfortable but okay." said Scorch as Yang released him.

"So what is it you wanted to buy?" asked Weiss.

"A soccerball." replied Scorch sheepishly.

"Is that all?" asked Weiss. "I don't see why you would find it embarassing. You are still a child after all."

"I know but being in Beacon and all that makes it feel a little childish." replied Scorch.

"Well I know a place that sells good training gear and I know they have stuff for sports." said Yang.

"Then let's go." said Ruby as they began following Yang.

"So you like soccer?" asked Yang.

"Yes. Very much." responded Scorch. "I remember someone once said that when you kick the ball with someone there is nothing to be said because you convey your feelings through the ball." he said with a smile.

"Sounds interesting." said Yang. "Maybe I'll play with you."

"Thanks." said Scorch. "Are you really good?"

"I used to play a little when I was a kid." replied Yang. "Didn't really get into it but I still remember the rules. So what position do you play?"

"Any." replied Scorch. "I don't remember much but I feel like soccer smiles down on me."

"That's an...interesting way of thinking about it." said Weiss as they entered a shop. In front they had several soccerballs. Scorch got one and Weiss paid allowing them to leave. After they went to a park where Yang and Scorch started playing by passing the ball to one another. After Scorch said he wanted to try catching Yang's shoots.

"He really is child." said Weiss with a smile.

"It must be nice." said Blake as Scorch stood between to trees while Yang stood a few feet away.

"Ready?" asked Yang.

"Whenever you are." responded Scorch.

"Alright. Here goes." declared Yang as she took two steps back and then kicked the ball. Scorch readied himself with his hands held out and stopped the ball.

"Come on. Don't hold back." called out Scorch as he threw the ball back. "You can kick the ball with way more force than that."

"Yeah but..." began Yang.

"When someone trusts you, you respond through action." said Scorch. Yang sighed.

"Alright but don't blame me if you get hurt." said Yang. Scorch smiled as Yang took four steps back.

"She's not going to kick it with all her strength, is she?" asked Weiss. Her answer was answered when Yang ran the four steps and kicked the ball with all her might surprising the three. As the ball got closer Scorch clapped his hands together.

"Zetsu Honō no ījisu (Absolute Aegis of Flame {絶炎のイージス})!" Scorch called out as what a massive amount of fire formed in front of him making a shield which stopped the ball surprising Team RWBY. The ball still tried to break through but was launched upwards and caught by Scorch. After Yang and the others went up to him.

"What was that?" asked Yang.

"I'm not really sure." replied Scorch. "When I saw the amount force you put into it all of a sudden I felt my blood boil in excitement. It felt so familiar and before I knew it I just did it."

"That move felt familiar." said Ruby.

"Familiar? Have you seen it before?" asked Blake.

"No." replied Ruby. "It felt similar to that move he used during our mission. The tornado thing."

"Fuujin no Mai." said Scorch.

"What?" asked Ruby.

"The technique is a dribble technique called Fuujin no Mai. It means Dance of the Wind God." replied Scorch.

"But I remember you called out something a little different." said Ruby. "I think it was kai."

"Yeah. I used an evolved version of it." replied Scorch.

"What about the one just now?" asked Yang.

"Honō no ījisu. It means Aegis of Flame." replied Scorch.

"But what about what you said before the first part?" asked Ruby.

"Zetsu Honō no ījisu is it's final evolved version. The Absolute Aegis of Flame." replied Scorch.

"I'm starting to wonder where you're from because I've never heard of anyone using moves like that in soccer." said Yang.

"It's making me wonder as well." said Scorch. "I don't remember a whole lot but I think where I'm from soccer was a big deal."

"It's just a game with a ball. How would it be a big deal?" asked Weiss.

"I don't know." replied Scorch. "But somehow playing soccer feels right."

"Well you are still a child." said Weiss.

"Hey you think the others found Nora?" asked Ruby.

"No. They haven't." replied Scorch causing them to look at him.

"How do you know?" asked Weiss.

"I've been around you long enough to tell your auras apart at long distances." replied Scorch as he turned around and pointed. "Ren's in that direction." he said before Jaune's over there." he said pointing to his right. "And Pyrrha's that way." he said pointing to his left.

"So where's Nora?" asked Ruby.

"That way." he replied pointing to the direction they'd come from. "She moves fast though."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" asked Weiss.

"No one asked." shrugged Scorch causing them to facepalm before he suddenly held his head in pain.

"Whoa. Are you okay?" asked Yang.

"Yeah. Just a weird surge of electricity in my mind." replied Scorch with a smile before he suddenly seemed to be electricuted causing him to kneel in pain. "Okay maybe more than that." he said.

"Did someone attack you?" asked Blake looking around.

"Not me." replied Scorch. "Someone has a computer like mind similar to mine and they've been hit with some kind of electric shock."

"Where?" asked Ruby.

"This way." replied Scorch as he ran off followed by the others. A few blocks after they found a place with several pieces of what looked to be large robots while three more engaged Penny who had her swords out but seemed tired.

"Penny!" called out Ruby.

"Ruby stay back!" called out Penny as one behind her made a large ball of electricity with it's hands which it hit Penny with causing her and Scorch to scream out in pain.

"Aquiring target." said one of the robots as it got near Penny just before a clear pulse which moved with a shrieking sound hit it and threw it back. At that Ruby ran in and got Penny out while Scorch stepped forth.

"Why are you here?" he asked. The large machine looked down at him.

"Target found. Aquiring target." said the first machine as it tried to strike him forcing him to jump back.

"If you want me then come and get me." said Scorch as a pereson dressed in black landed next to him.

"You know these things are tougher than they look." said the kid in black.

"You know me." said Scorch.

"Like you know me." said the guy in black. "I guess it's too much to expect you to remember right now but I'm Shadow. Half of someone you have yet to meet." he said looking at the machines.

"What are they?" asked Yang.

"Sentinels." replied Scorch.

"Well copies of Sentinels." said Shadow turning to Penny who was barely standing with Ruby's help. "Even in a space this closed she would've been able to wipe them out if they had been real ones." he said before turning to Scorch. "Listen. I'll handle them. They don't have any information on me since I'm on my own."

"I'm fighting too." said Scorch.

"No. Even with a fragments of your memories awake you know damn well you can't fight with your energy destabilized like that. If you do you could end up causing an excessive amount of destruction." said Shadow.

"Fine. I'll trust you." said Scorch as Blake stepped next to them.

"I'll help you." she said.

"No. These pricks are still transmitting and the last thing we need is for them to get your data."

"You can't do this on your own." said Weiss.

"Miss. As opposed to my friend here I have no physical body so I have no limiters. I can take them on my own." said Shadow as a cracked his neck. "Who wants to see a magic trick?" he said with a predatory grin towards the three Sentinels.

"Engaging Enemy."

"Psycho Fang!" called out Shadow as a pair of wolf ears appeared on the top of his head, his nails extended into claws, all his teeth became extremely sharp, and a dark violet aura appeared around him forming a wolf. "GekiJyuWereWolf Fist! Shadow!" he declared.

"WereWolf fist?" asked Yang.

"Let's play." he said before charging in. The first Sentinel made another large ball of electricity but right before it touched Shadow a dark fog shrouded everything but cleared almost as fast revealing six other Shadows standing together with the original.

"What did he just do?" asked Yang.

"Shadow has power over Darkness." replied Scorch. "He used the shadows of things around here to create copies of himself." he added pointing to a lamp post which no longer had a shadow.

"Can you tell which one's the real one?" asked Weiss.

"All seven are fakes." replied Scorch. "Shadow's aura is still here but none of the seven have it. They're basically puppets."

"How do you know?" asked Ruby.

"I'm not sure." replied Scorch as the seven attacked the Sentinels. Both groups fought with the copies gaining an edge until a four sentinel appeared and electricuted them from behind causing them to dissolve but right after the four sentinel was impaled by several spikes that came from its shadow.

"That kind of ambush is a little too predictable." said Shadow as he came out of Blake's shadow to her surprise. "Now I can play serious." he said walking up to the first one. When he got close it tried to grab him only for him to vanish and another shadow to extened onto the now struggling Sentinel before the darkness made a large sphere which was compressed into Shadow's hand. "Welcome to my realm." he said crushing the sphere causing the energy to dissipate.

"What happened to it?" Ruby asked Scorch. Scorch shrugged.

"Who's next?" asked Shadow turning to the remaining two sentinels. "You know what? I'm not gonna be picky." he said before vanishing as they saw a swift shadow moving through the two remaining Sentinels. When he reappeared in front of them several cracks formed on them. From those cracks dark energy came out of them and consume them. When they dissipated the sentinels were gone. Afterwards Shadow walked up to them. "How is she?" he asked looking at Penny.

"She's hurt but I think she'll be okay." said Ruby.

"How do you feel?" asked Shadow.

"Physical body has sustained 67% damage. Systems can be repaired." replied Penny.

"What is she talking about?" asked Yang.

"You're not human, are you?" asked Scorch.

"No. I'm not." replied Penny. "I'm an android."

"I see." said Scorch.

"Listen." said Shadow causing them to turn to him. "I'll send you back to Beacon. After I'll get your friends and send them as well."

"You know where they are?" asked Yang.

"Yes. I can sense them in the same way he did." replied Shadow as he walked up to Scorch. "Also please make sure this idiot gets his ribs checked."

"What do you mean?" asked Yang before Shadow punched Scorch in the gut causing him to lose conciousness. "He's had about nine cracks on his ribs since he got here and he's been ignoring it."

"But he never said anything." said Yang surprised.

"We can withstand extensive amounts of pain for days before they start to bother us. Unfortunately this idiot has a habbit of training till he passes out from exhaustion so his ignores injuries for a lot longer." replied Shadow as Yang picked Scorch up. "In any case your friends will be with you shortly."

"Wait how are you...?" began Yang before a dark swirl appeared under them causing them to find themselves back at Beacon. After they took Scorch and Penny to the infirmiry to have them checked out. The nurse examined them.

"So how are they?" asked Ruby.

"The girl appears to be a machine and I'm no engineer so I can't tell anything. The boy on the other I can tell two things about him. He's got a number of fractured ribs and evidentally he's got a lot of resistance to pain."

"Excuse us but we need help." said Pyrrha as she entered with the rest of her team with Ren and Jaune holding an unconcious blond faunus with a monkey tail. Blake turned and recognized him as Sun Wukong.

"What happened?" asked Blake.

"Nora found him fighting some weird robots and sent us a message." replied Jaune. "He took down a couple on his own but I think the others caught him by surprise." he added as Shadow entered and then checked Sun's pocket and took something out.

"Hey what are you doing?" asked Yang as Shadow went up to Penny and took something out of her pocket as well.

"This is why they were targetted." said Shadow showing two rings. The first had a ruby and the second an onyx. "It's also the reason he's had a hard time remembering."

"What do you mean?" asked Yang.

"It'll be better if he explains." replied Shadow handing Yang the ring with the ruby. "When he awakens give him this. It'll take a few minutes but he'll remember everything."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Blake.

"Because when we entered your Universe he felt it happening so he put some of his energy into it." replied Shadow before disappearing in a dark shroud.

"I guess we take him to bed." said Yang.

"I'll stay here with Penny." said Ruby.

"I'll watch over Sun." said Blake.

"Then I guess the rest of us go back." said Jaune. Blake picked up Scorch and handed him to Yang who nodded.

"Alright." said Yang as she looked at her sister who smiled and nodded prompting her to do the same before she, Weiss, and Team JNPR left the room.


End file.
